A Study On The Main Influencing Factors Of Postgraduates' Cultivation Quality

To cultivate high level talents is the primary mission of higher education, while the quality of education remains the fundamental concern in both the development of higher education and the requirement of serving the society. In an era of knowledge-based economy. the competitiveness of a country is more seen on the number of high-quality talents, the amount of scientific and technical achievements and the innovation mechanism in knowledge and institution. Doctoral education, as the highest level of national education, is the major way of training high level innovative talents and the most significant part of higher education. However, while the Chinese society develops further, and our goal of building a well-off society becomes even clearer, there is still a large gap between the quality of doctoral education and the national or social demands and expectations. This forms a sharp contrast with the prosperity of higher education as a whole. Therefore, improving the quality of doctoral education in China will be a major orientation of reforming and developing the higher education in the years to come. Against this background, with the major questions we are concerned and personal experience as the starting points, the author of this dissertation takes the universities with doctoral programs in Chongqing as samples to probe into the factors and ways to improve doctoral education quality and to offer some reference for the doctoral educational practice in China.This dissertation consists of eight parts, including an introduction, six chapters and a conclusion.The first part is Introduction, which begins with the source, the starting point, the background and questions of the present research. It is then followed by a commentary review of relevant researches in the whole world, a summary of all factors researchers have discussed about the quality of doctoral education, which serves as a reference for the research from the general to the specific. This part also discusses the theoretical and practical values of the research before giving the research design, including the hypothesis, ideas, framework and methods. It specifies universities with doctoral programs in Chongqing as the cases, and analyzes the focus, difficulties and originalities of the research.Chapter One is about the development and requirement for doctoral education at this time. On the basis of reviewing the development process of doctoral education since the reform and opening up, this chapter mainly discusses the scientific connotations of the core concepts from educational practice. Deep analysis is made of the concepts of quality, quality of higher education, quality of degree and graduate education, and education quality, with the aim of clarifying the essential connotations of doctoral education quality. This chapter also analyses the chances and challenges of improving graduate education quality, which serves as a logic starting point for the following parts.Chapter Two offers an overall survey of the factors affecting doctoral education quality. Funded by the Key Research Project of the Graduate Education Reform in Chongqing, this research is carried on the basis of literature review through the questionnaires on the doctoral candidates, supervisors and administrative staff followed by a brief analysis of the data gathered and the summary of the interviews with the doctoral supervisors. These data were combined to probe into the major factors affecting doctoral education quality, which are summarized as the factor on the supervisor’s side, the candidate’s personal factors and contextual factors.Chapter Three illustrates the first factor:the supervisor. On the basis of the findings from the survey, the interviews and relevant literature, this chapter analyses the underlying correlation between supervision and quality of doctoral education, with the view that the supervisor is the essential factor. It discusses the origins and development, the responsibilities and value of the supervisor as well as the inadequacies of supervisors’guidance and tutoring work in Chongqing.Chapter Four is about the personal factors. It is believed in this chapter that the doctoral candidates" personal endeavours are the inner factors affecting the doctoral education quality. Specific examples are used to discuss the motivations, individual academic qualities and their participation of academic activities so as to find the inadequacies of the personal factor, such as inappropriate motivation, the lack of academic spirit and insufficient academic activities. The negative influence of these inadequacies is also discussed.Chapter Five elaborates on the contextual factors, which are considered to be important factors affecting the doctoral education quality. This chapter demonstrates the meaning and internal relations of doctoral education quality in three aspects, namely the discipline levels, degree courses and academic exchange activities. The problems in terms of context for universities in Chongqing are also pointed out in this chapter.Chapter Six puts forward the way of improving doctoral education quality. On the basis of the previous analysis, this chapter suggests some measures to take in establishing an education model of "effective supervision, innovative research originality, more contextual support and strong safeguard conditions", with a view of proposing some reference for improving doctoral education quality in China. The first measure is to emphasize supervisor’s qualification. Following the principles of validity, scientific identification of supervisors, and candidate-centeredess. we are to make full efforts to improve the supervisor’s tutoring capabilities and responsibilities so as to enhance tutoring effect and education result. The second measure is to creatively reform the admission policies. The emphasis must be put on the examination of the candidates’ motivation, academic potentials and spirits. In the education process, it is necessary to guide them to the direction of devotion to academic research, cultivating the explorative ability, participating academic activities and improving academic innovative abilities. The third measure is to strengthen the educational practice, including subject building, degree course learning, exploration and discussion guiding. Efforts must be made to build up academic atmosphere on campus and to guide the development of academic spirits. The fourth measure is to improve administration, monitoring and serving levels of the administrators in the work of mid-term test, thesis proposal presentation, dissertation defense to guard against academic misconduct and to form an effective safeguarding mechanism for better education result through the improved systems of encouragement and punishment.The last part is Conclusion, which summarizes the majors parts of the dissertation, including the questionnaire survey and the interview of the factors that affect the doctoral education quality in Chongqing; data analysis and selection of path of improving quality; reflections upon the inadequacies of the present research and issues that have not been included in the research. A prediction of future development and practical value of the present research is also discussed in this chapter.In summary, the present research aims at an innovative investigation into the practice in answer to the call of the new era in accordance with the new features of present higher education. With the view of improving the occupational aptitude of the professional doctorates and finding solutions to practical problems, it attempts to carry out the survey and rational analysis of the factors affecting doctoral education quality. The major factors are then summarized and discussed in detail so as to find the way to improve the doctoral education quality. The dissertation also offers some operable and innovative measures to the main problems from the aspects of supervisor selection, candidate admission, academic creation, context building and administration in the hope of offering some reference for the improvement of doctoral education quality.